


In A Heartbeat

by MyJediLife



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Badass Rey, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben Solo is Not Nice, Ben Solo is a Mess, Ben is a doctor, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Heavy Angst, Inappropriate use of a stethoscope, Linen closet sex, Mutual Pining, Rey (Star Wars) is a Mess, Rey Needs A Hug, Rey is a doctor, Secret Relationship, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Thirst Order fic, swolo fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-18 23:08:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20199703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyJediLife/pseuds/MyJediLife
Summary: Rey Sands is a Resident in the city's only Level I Trauma center's emergency room. Doctor Ben Solo is the Chief Resident - and known for his temper tantrums and foul moods. When he targets Rey over and over again, she has to wonder if she is cut out to be an Emergency Physician - but little does she know Ben's real reason for his actions.





	In A Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Azuwrite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azuwrite/gifts).

> This is a birthday fic for my incredible beta and moodboard artist: [Azuwrite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azuwrite)!
> 
> Ash, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, babe. I wish you love, light and happiness for your birthday and every day after! I know I drive you crazy with my overuse of the word "softly", and your comments on my betas never fail to crack me up! You're a blessing to this fandom, and I couldn't do this without you! <3  
....................
> 
> Thanks to [TazWren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tazwren), [Commandercrouton](https://archiveofourown.org/users/commandercrouton) & my fandom wife, [Littlemistake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemistake) for gathering Ash's fave tropes and helping me plot this out.  
......................
> 
> My fabulous moodboard was done by my Force Bonded Twin, [Kaybohls](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaybohls)... Thank you darling!
> 
> ..................
> 
> Strap yourselves in, it's gonna be a bumpy ride! ;)

[](https://imgur.com/WHghvEp)

Rey watched Ben through the glass window, sighing as she pressed the button so that she could speak to him.

“Why’d you do it, Ben? I… I know I’m not your favorite resident, nor am I much of a doctor, clearly. You always remind me of that. But… why did you take the fall for me with Snoke? That misdiagnosis almost cost that man his life! I should be under review, maybe even lose my residency! But I’m not – you told Snoke it was your fault. Why?”

Ben pushed his blanket off and stood, moving towards the glass slowly, shivering as his fevered skin was met with the cold, sterile conditioned air. When he reached the glass window where Rey stood on the other side, he put a large hand on the window, like he was somehow imagining touching her face. His voice was quiet, his breath raspy as he said softly, “Because I’m in love with you, Rey.”

….

**2 Years Earlier**

The first day of residency is always the hardest, according to all her friends who were already firmly entrenched in their residencies. Rey had been thrilled to get into the Emergency Medicine Residency program at Chandrila General Hospital – the biggest hospital and only Level I trauma center in Hanna City.

As she walked confidently into the meeting room with the other first year residents – seven in all – Rey’s eyes swept across the front of the room, where several men and women sat - cups of coffees, stethoscopes and lab coats definitely being the dress code for all of them.

Rey thought back to the conversation she had with her friends Finn and Rose earlier that week. They both worked as nurses in the emergency department, and hadn’t hesitated to give her advice. “Don’t let Hux bully you around. He’s a good doc, but he’s British and has that whole ‘stick up his ass’ thing going – no offense to you and your Britishness, of course,” Finn had said with a wide smile. 

“Oh, and Doctor Solo. He’ll be your Chief Resident. Great doctor, amazing looking with the best ass you’ve ever seen – but mean as spit. It’s like he is perpetually in a bad mood. Guess he makes up for it by being the best doctor we have right now. All the female nurses are in love with him – even if he hates us all. Except me, of course. I only have eyes for my Finn.” Rose leaned in to place a gentle kiss to Finn’s lips, and Rey shook her head slightly, grinning at her friends. “Holdo is a blessing to us all, to be honest. If she takes you under her wing, cling to her. She’s a hippie, and we all know she smokes pot all the time – but she’s an amazing doctor as well.”

Rey’s eyes travelled to the front of the room, looking over the four doctors sitting there, who were now laughing at some private joke. The red head, she decided, must be Hux. He had that stick in his ass look about him. The choice for Doctor Holdo was obvious, as there was only one woman there, leaving her eyes to wander over to a tall handsome man with a shock of silky raven hair and alabaster skin. Rey quickly decided that he must be Doctor Solo – as the man sitting stoically beside him was definitely not handsome – and considerably older.

As the clock ticked over to eight, the doctors at the front all looked up at the new residents, the older man at the front standing to greet them. “Good morning! My name is Doctor Peter Snoke, and I am the Chief Physician here at Chandrila General. I just wanted to introduce myself, and welcome you all to your first day with us. I can assure you, this will not be easy, and we demand nothing less than perfection here. Doctor Solo – I leave it up to you.”

The man Rey had pegged as Doctor Solo stood, his presence practically filling the room as he looked over the seven of them. When his eyes reached hers, Rey felt something inside her shift as his chocolate orbs met hers. Rose had gotten her description of him right – this man was amazing looking, intimidating, and downright  _ terrifying _ .

“Morning. Welcome to day one of hell. I am not going to make false statements on what your time as first year residents will be like. It is a nightmare. We are here to save people’s lives, and to do that we have to be running on all cylinders all the time. I expect nothing less than one hundred and fifty percent from you all. When I ask a question, I expect an answer – hopefully the correct one. And when I tell you to do something – you do it, without question. Understood?” 

He looked at all of them, and each of them nodded in answer. Ben nodded as well, seemingly satisfied at their responses. “Good. I’m Doctor Ben Solo, and I am the Chief Resident here. You need something, you come to me. This is Doctor Armitage Hux, he’ll be the attending for…” Doctor Solo glanced down at the paper he plucked off the desk, “Doctors Wexley and Dameron.” Doctor Solo motioned towards the woman sitting to one side of him. “This is Doctor Amilyn Holdo. She’ll have Doctors Connix, Tano and Sella with her. That leaves Doctors Sands and Pava with me.”

“Let’s go, these patients aren’t going to heal themselves, are they?” Doctor Solo looked over them once more, and Rey was the first out of her seat, coming around the table to stand in front of Doctor Solo. “You are?” Doctor Solo’s molten amber eyes glanced her over for a moment.

“Doctor Rey Sands.”

“Perfect,” Doctor Solo handed her a handful of manila folders. “There are your cases to review for me. I need your diagnostic interpretations by tomorrow morning on all of them, and how you would treat them. This is, of course, in addition to seeing patients all day. Understand?”

“Yes, Doctor. Understood.”

….

Ten hours later, Rey had been bled on while trying to stitch a ten year olds leg shut, projectile vomited on, and had been yelled at no less than fifteen times by patients – and she  _ loved _ every second. Doctor Solo only answered her statements with more questions, and oftentimes, scowls and negative sounding grunts when she discussed diagnostic findings and probable treatments with him.

“Doctor Solo?” Rey found him leaning against the wall of the doctor’s break room, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the television perched on the wall.

“What, Doctor Sands?” His eyes moved from the tv to hers, and she was momentarily stunned by the depths and expressiveness within them. He pulled one hand up to run through his hair momentarily, and Rey licked her lips, kicking her brain back into gear.

“I, um…” she started before he interrupted her.

“You, um. Not a quick thinker, are you? Perhaps you are not cut out to be an emergency physician, Doctor Sands? What do you need? Out with it!” Doctor Solo’s eyes were burning now, and Rey found she had to look away or be set on fire by them.

“I needed to discuss this case with you and get your approval for treatment? Thirty year old male, presenting with diarrhea and vomiting times three days now. Low grade fever of 101.6, other vitals within normal limits. I had an IV placed and am running a bolus of normal saline at 1000 milliliters an hour.I have also ordered a milligram of Zofran intravenously for the nausea and vomiting. Please sign off on this for me?” Rey thrust her clipboard towards the man, wanting nothing more than to be away from him, so she could go back to treating patients until it was time to go home to sleep.

Doctor Solo looked at her, and Rey could have sworn there was something other than anger and dislike burning in his eyes, and then they swept down to the paperwork he needed to sign, his voice a low rumble as he asked, “And what are some common mimics of gastroenteritis, Doctor?”

Rey watched Doctor Solo as he signed her papers with large, strong looking hands that, for some reason, she knew she would imagine later touching her bare skin. Swallowing hard, Rey answered, “Appendicitis. Bowel Perforation. Mesenteric Ischemia. Ischemic colitis, c diff, Triple A, Bowel obstruction… should I keep going, Doctor Solo – or have I proven I know what the fuck I am talking about?”

Rey could have sworn she saw the corner of his mouth turn up slightly as he finished signing her paper before handing the clipboard back to her.

“Don’t fucking kill anyone,” he grumbled as she turned to walk out of the room.

….

It had been exactly one month since Rey Sands walked into his emergency room.Ben found himself hyper aware of her presence every time she was near him – the sound of her voice had his hands twitching as he fought the urge to touch her.

He wanted her. He wanted to touch her, kiss her, possess her. He wanted to be inside her, to hear her moaning his name as he fucked her all night long. Ben couldn’t remember ever wanting someone as badly as he wanted Rey. It wasn’t just her body or her looks that enthralled him, though. It was the way she stood up to him, arguing with him when she knew she had a valid point she wanted him to acknowledge. Rey had a brilliant, quick mind that Ben found breathtakingly infuriating. She challenged him – and he had never been challenged before. She frustrated him, because she wouldn’t back down, even when he was a complete asshole to her.

He had known she would be a brilliant trauma physician from the moment he had worked with her on her first day.

He pushed her, every day, every shift. If he was harder on her than his other residents, it was because he wanted her to succeed, wanted her to be the best doctor he knew she could be. He just…  _ wanted her _ .

He couldn’t, though, and it was driving him insane. He was fairly certain Rey was convinced he hated her, and that was safe. It meant she kept her distance from him, only approaching him when she needed to. As much as the distance made him crazy, having her near was by far worse.

She was dangerous to have so close. But Ben knew he would rather have her close, where he could at least see her during the day, then have her be with another doctor. Leaning against the wall of the doctor’s break room, Ben’s eyes went to where Rey sat with Doctor Pava, a cup of coffee clutched in her hands. She was exhausted, and on hour twenty of a twenty-four hour shift that Ben was glad he no longer had to do.

Not able to stop himself, Ben pushed off the wall and walked towards the table, his eyes focusing on Rey as both women looked up at him. “Doctor Sands, may I have a moment to discuss your case reviews?” Her hazel eyes came up to meet his, and Ben found himself clenching his hands simply to keep from touching her.

“Sure,” Rey stood, smiling at Jessika as she walked with Ben into his tiny office, which rested just off the doctor’s room.

….

Rey couldn’t explain the weird juxtaposition she felt between lust and anger whenever she was around Doctor Solo. He challenged her, pushed her to think about every single diagnosis she made, every treatment she ordered.

And sometimes, when he thought she wasn’t looking at him, she saw his eyes following her as she treated patients, or as she sat at a table gulping down a quick meal. The fire she saw burning within the molten amber orbs almost took her breath away. Doctor Solo was intense, and she wondered – far more than she probably should – if that intensity carried over to his personal life.

He was single, and all the nurses sighed over how good looking he was. Some surmised he may be gay – but Rey knew better.

Currently, he was standing infuriatingly close to her, leaning over his desk as they argued over a differential diagnosis for a high fever. His eyes burned as he looked at her, gesturing to the patient’s chart on his desk.

“Why didn’t you check for meningitis with this patient?” Ben challenged, watching as her face colored and she straightened up to her full height, defiance and passion burning in her eyes as she looked at him.

“He didn’t present with a headache or neck stiffness. A spinal tap would have been an unnecessary and expensive – as well as painful – diagnostic test to run.” Rey’s eyes drifted down to Ben’s lips briefly before coming back up to his eyes, and she leaned over the desk now as well, her palms flat against the cool wood. “Do you not think I know how to fucking diagnose my patients, Doctor Solo, or do you treat all your residents like they’re fucking morons?” Her eyes flashed, and Ben wanted nothing more than to lean forward and press his lips to her delightfully filthy mouth until she stopped talking.

One corner of his mouth raised slightly as he asked, “Malaria?”

Rey’s response was almost instantaneous. “He didn’t travel outside the country. No need to test for that. Any other idiotic theories?” Rey felt her heart pounding in her chest. Doctor Solo held her career in his large, very strong hands, and Rey shouldn’t be challenging him in such a manner – but she found she enjoyed the confrontations they had.

“Pneumonia?”

Rey snorted, shaking her head. “I listened to his lungs, and they were clear throughout. His labs showed an increased white blood cell count, and he had a red, inflamed area on his arm. It was clearly cellulitis, Doctor. Now, can I go save patient’s lives, or would you like to continue trying to find fault with my cases?” Rey’s eyes met his, and her breath caught in her throat at the pure desire she saw in his eyes.

Ben started to lean forward, ever so slightly, when Jessika appeared in the doorway. “Doctor Solo? We have a Level I coming in, a car wreck. Doctor Hux wanted me to come get you.”

Ben straightened to his full height, his eyes pulled from Rey’s to look at Jessika. “Of course, Doctor Pava. I’ll be right there. Doctor Sands – I find your case studies still lacking in detail. I expect you to improve upon them, and maybe you’ll make it past your first year.”

Doctor Solo strode out of the room, leaving Rey watching him as she tried to decide whether she wanted to punch him or fuck him – or both.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave comments and kudos, and mash that subscribe button if you like what you see! <3
> 
> Come visit me on tumblr: [my-jedi-life](https://my-jedi-life.tumblr.com/)
> 
> And on the twitter: [MyJediLife](https://twitter.com/MyJediLife) (All the twitters - I know them!)


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